Conservationis status may optionally be included; you can search the IUCN's database of threatened species to find the conservation status of many organisms. It is included via the status argument, which takes a code or template. It is not appropriate for prehistoric organisms - the fossil_range parameter may be a more sensible option.

| status = code

or

| status = EX| extinct = year

Use the first syntax (with one of the codes below) except for extinct animals when you wish to show the year of extinction. The code may be all upper or lower case, but the cases used in the table are preferred.

You may come across the old syntax for conservation status also: (do not use)

| status = {{StatusTemplate}}

If you find a taxobox like this, you can safely replace the template with the corresponding code, see also taxobox status.

The following status codes are available (the third column shows the corresponding template, but this is obsolete and the code is preferred):